A weekly round up of the latest property news from the central London boroughs

City of London

PW reports that Grosvenor Europe has sold Fleet Place House in the City of London to Beijing Capital Development Holdings (Beijing SHOKAI) for £96.5m. The 91,955 sq ft multi-let office building was sold on behalf of the Grosvenor London Office Fund (GLOF) following a competitive bidding process, which included domestic UK, American and Asian investors.Fleet Place House, which was purchased by GLOF in 2013, is now let to six tenants including Just Eat, Samsung, Bevan Britain and Dimension Data. Savills acted for Beijing SHOKAI and BNP Paribas Real Estate represented Grosvenor.

Hammersmith & Fulham

PW reports that planning permission has been agreed for the historic Shepherds Bush Palladium to be transformed into serviced apartments. Hotel group Dorsett Hospitality International, a subsidiary company of Far East Consortium International, will add eight storeys to accommodate 74 new apartments, along with 8,500 sq ft of commercial space on the ground and lower ground floors. Ranging from 246-408 sq ft, all apartments will be serviced by the neighbouring Dorsett Shepherds Bush Hotel. Situated between two Grade II Listed buildings, the Pavilion was formerly a cinema before becoming a four-star Dorsett Hotel and The Empire. Construction will commence in 2018, with completion expected in 2019.

Lambeth

PW reports that London and Continental Railways (LCR) is bringing into use long-concealed Victorian arches to form a new street north of Waterloo station as part of the ongoing redevelopment of the area around the station. One of Waterloo’s most recognisable landmarks is the Leake Street tunnel. The arches adjacent to the tunnel, once home to a bonded whisky warehouse, have been used for storage for decades. But now LCR is transforming them into eight units, totalling 23,350 sq ft, which will be occupied primarily by creative and independent restaurant, bar and café operators. Six of the eight units have already been leased to: Aures London, which claims to be the UK’s first custom-built acoustic event space; The Italian Job, a pub serving Italian street food and craft beers; an as-yet-unnamed French bistro that has chosen the arches for its first venture outside Paris; gourmet chicken restaurant Mother Clucker; and Squint/Opera, a creative studio collaboration between chefs, artists, musicians and producers, which has taken two units.

Wandsworth

PW reports that Redrow has been named the preferred bidder for the 1,000 home regeneration of the Alton estate in Wandsworth, South West London, following an EU-compliant procurement process. Wandsworth Council have selected the housebuilder for the project on the 17-acre estate, which will also create a new library, a health centre, new office space, and will double the existing retail space to 54,000 sq ft. Of the new homes, 158 council houses will be re-provided from existing homes, and an extra 30 council homes will be built.

EG reports that the prospective purchaser of St Modwen and Vinci’s prize site at New Covent Garden Market has withdrawn from negotiations. It is understood that the party that had been in exclusive talks to buy the exclusive 10.2-acre site at Nine Elms, was a potential new Chinese entrant to the UK market. JLL is advising the sale.

Westminster

ES reports that Karen Buck MP and Mark Field MP  have called for property owners to have to notify councils of the dates that their property is being used for short-lettings, after it emerged that Westminster Council is investigating more than 1,100 properties which are believed to be in breach of short-term let rules. In parliament this week MPs warned against a “free-for-all” in short-term lettings amid the ‘Airbnb revolution.’ The number of London properties being advertised short-term on Airbnb soared by 126 per cent in the year after the 2015-16 Deregulation Act, according to figures from Westminster Council, up from 9,663 to 21,861. Westminster alone saw an 80 per cent increase to 2,878.

EG reports that Transport for London has decided not to sell its iconic headquarters in London’s St James’s for a luxury residential redevelopment. They will sell the asset as an office investment via a sale-and-leaseback. The decision will not affect it’s move to a new 265,000 sq ft office at Lendlease’s International Quarter in Stratford E15 in 2018.

PW reports that Topland Group is seeking offers for its leasehold interest in Every Hotel at 31-39 Coventry Street in the West End. It is believed that offers are being sought in the region of £30m. The prime hotel asset is located in close proximity to Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus and was comprehensively refurbished in 2014. The 4-star hotel, part of the GLH Hotels group, provides 82 bedrooms and includes a parade of retail facing Coventry Street. Topland’s interest currently has 38 years unexpired and is held from The Duchy of Lancaster subject to an intermediary interest from Akzo Nobel CIF Nominees.